WPD Receives New Forensics Computer

The specialty-built computer, valued at over $18,000, scours a gamut of devices for digital evidence.


Photo of the new HTCI EDAS FOX Forensics Computer at the WPD. (Photo by Kyle G. Horst, The Watertown Current)

Watertown City Council approved the acceptance of a grant at their meeting Oct. 7 for the Watertown Police Department to fully fund the purchase of a new digital forensics computer to the tune of over $18,000.

 

The grant is funded through the Underground Railroad, a Utah-based nonprofit dedicated to fight human trafficking and child exploitation, to purchase an $18,195 computer (at no cost to the city) which is a specialized computer made by the HTCI EDAS FOX corporation in Florida to digitally comb through the devices and computers of offenders.

This is a mega-storage computer with six data drives (solid state and mechanical) totaling 24 terabytes and features multiple card readers and evidence drives to find out what data is on the drives and when it was accessed. It also has 12 front-facing USB 3.0 ports and many rear-facing ports for additional storage and networking to the departments computer systems. It is able to scan a gamut of mobile phones, tablets, memory cards, and computer storage drives.

Running Windows 11, the computer uses an Intel Xeon W9 processor, featuring 56 cores running at 1.90 GHz—valued at $5,889 alone—and comes with two 27-inch monitors and a three-year warranty.

It comes with the recommendations of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, The Tarrant County (Texas) Criminal district attorney’s Office, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office and INTERPOL.

The computer will primarily be used by WPD Internet Crimes Against Children division detective Sgt. Jermey Bjerke, who is also a federally-sworn Homeland Security task force officer. The new terminal is replacing an older 2015 model from the same manufacturer. The WPD also has a 2021 model from the same manufacturer which will remain in service for the forseeable future.

According to WPD Capt. Kirk Ellis, the computer has specialized data blocks on it which only allow for one-way data transfer to protect the integrity of the evidence, a key feature which makes it suited for investigations.

“This built-to-order computer is the nicest one we’ve had in the division,” Ellis said. “This computer should last for several years to come.”

Ellis further stated that this computer will serve the department in all necessary investigations, not just cases related to the Internet Crimes Against Children division. It can be used to search the devices of suspects in major cases such as homicides, drug busts and assault cases.

Ellis cited a case about a year ago that the previous forensics computer assisted with as to its usefulness—after a string of ATM thefts a little over a year ago an investigation finally yielded a lead and a suspect was arrested. Subsequently, a warrant to search his devices was issued, and the computer pulled the GPS history of his phone placing him at the scene in the timeframe of when the thefts occurred.

The Underground Railroad has also paid for all software licenses and staff training in relation to the computer, further lessening the cost to the city. As it stands, the only cost the city will have to bear is the cost of electricity it consumes to power it up.

“The Underground Railroad asked us what they could provide to us that will make our jobs as detectives easier,” Ellis said. “This computer fulfills that need. They want their partner police departments to have the best equipment available and we can’t appreciate them enough as a department for that.”